Paper machine



Get. 5, 1943. L. HORNBOSTEL 2,330,891

PAPER MACHINE Filed Nov. 13, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l L. HORNBOSTEL.

PAPER MACHINE Filed Nov. 13, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 yfrom the spacebetween the rolls.

Patented a; 5, 1943 UNITED PAPER MACHINE 2 Lloyd Hornbostel, Beloit,Wis., assignor to Beloit Iron Works, Beloit, Wis., a corporation ofWisconsin Application November 13, 1940, Serial No. 365,468

4 Claims.

This invention relates to paper machines and machines for performinganalogous operations, and.refers more particularly to the structure ofpaper machine drier sections and press sections.

In the past driers have been made with unitary frame sections disposedon each side of the machine supporting theupperand lower rolls, theseframe sections comprising a network of structural members designed toprovide bearings for the roll and to permit the escape of vapors Whilethis construction has been almost universally employed as being the bestcommercially known construction,yet it oflers substantial difficulty inoperation because of the obstruction to free access to the space betweenthe rolls where the maximum access isja thing eminently to be desired.

of the rolls, and presented a serious obstruction to the ventilation ofthe machine and thus afquate accessibility along the front side.

For example/it is necessary to frequently feed 7 the end of the paperthrough the drier at the start of the operation or when the sheetbreaks. Because of the obstruction to the space between the rolls, ithas been universal practice in the past to employ ropes which passaround the drier rolls, the edge of the paper being seated between V theropes and thus carried through between the rolls for the purpose offeeding the forward edge of the paper through. This isat best amakeshift operation and never has been completely satisfactory, for thereason that the paper sometimes comes out of the ropes or the ropesbreak,

under which circumstances it is necessary to An important object of theinvention is the provision of a drier section, press section or thelike, wherein the operator has free access to the space between therolls throughout the length of the drier.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a paper machinehaving a novel frame structune.

it further object of the invention is the pro- ;vision of a machine ofthe character described having improved ventilation characteristics and-a resultant greater efficiency.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a driersection, press section or the has been the difficulty of maintenance dueto the fact that the parts were relatively inaccessible, and to the factthat the various elements of the machine were so tied together that itwas diflicult to remove any one part. For example, the labor involved inputting on new felts on a drier section 1 like, wherein the lower drierrolls are supported from below the rolls and the upper drier rolls aresupported from a point above the rolls to permit unobstructed access tothe space between the rolls.. I

Ihave also aimed to provide a drier or press section wherein the frontends of'the rolls are supported on upper and lower frame structures, theframe structures being vertically spaced to allow free access of theoperator to the space between the rolls along the entire front side ofthe machine.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the following descriptionand the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevationshowing a part of 'a-drier embodying my invention, and

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

The invention is herein shown embodied in a drier having spaced lowerdrier rolls 3-8, inclusive, and upper drier rolls H-li, inclusive. Thelower rolls are supported on frame structures designated generally bythe numerals l6 and I1,

each of said structures being made up of a plurality'of' sections asshown at l8, I9, 2|, 22, 23, i '24, etc., the lower frame structuresbeing formed in sections in this manner in order to simplify theoperation of fabrication. The particular manner in which these framestructures are made up is not a matter of cardinal importance in theinvention so, long as they have adequate strength. Spaced along theframe structures l6 and H are bearing supports as indicated at 25adapted to carry bearings as indicated at 26 for support of trunnions 9at the opposite ends of the lower drier rolls for rotation. Intermediatethe lower drier rolls at suitably spaced intervals are bearing supports21 which carry bearings 28 upon which are supported suitable felt rollsas indicated at 29, 3|, 32, 33, 34, 35 and 36, etc.,

over which the lower felt indicated generally by the numeral 31, iscaused to pass. Advantageously in accordance with conventional practice,additional rolls 4|, 42, 43, etc., are employed, over whichthe felts arecaused to return. At intervals the felt is carried around the usual feltdriers as indicated at 38 and 39. The bearing supports 25 and 21 arepositioned on the upper side of the lower frame structures I6 and I! sothat the supports for the rolls do not extend above the trunnionscarried in the bearings 26 and 28.

The frame sections l6 and I1 are seated on the usual floor orotherfoundation as indicated at 44 and 45, this being the conventionalfoundation as heretofore employed in the art.' Carried on the samefoundation and in spaced relationship to the lower frame section l6 arecolumns indicated generally by the numerals 46, 41, 48, etc., extendingalong the front side of the machine. In this particular embodiment ofthe invention a similar row of columns indicated generally at 49 (Fig.

2) is provided at the rear'of the machine in.

spaced relation to the frame section ll. However, a substantial part ofthe benefits of the invention may be obtained by employing a standardframe construction at the rear of the drier in which case the functionsof the columns 49 and the lower frame section I! would be combined inabove the lower frame section H are similar beams indicated generally bythe numeral (Fig. 2). In this instance the beams are of rectangularcross-section and are bolted, welded, or otherwise affixed to thegirders. Attached to the lower side of the beams 55, 56 and 51 are upperbearing supports as indicated at 58 serving to support roll bearings 59in which the trunnions 60 of the upper drier rolls are journaled. Aplurality of brackets as indicated at 6| are likewise attached to thebeams and serve to support a plurality of upper felt rolls as shown at62, 63, etc., the felt rolls being suitably spaced in accordance withprior art practice. It will thus be seen that the girders and beamstogether with the brackets 58 and 6| form upper frame sections forsupporting the upper drier rolls and felt rolls, these frame sectionsbeing in spaced relation to the frame sections l6 and I1 so that theentire space between the upper and lower felt rolls is accessible to theoperator throughout the entire length of the machine, the space betweenthe upper and lower frame sections preferably being greater than thediameter of the rolls, so that the rolls may be removed withoutdisturbing the frames.

Brackets such as shown at 64, 65, 66, etc. on

opposite sides of the machine and attached to the beams 55, 56 and 5'1function to receive and support the trunnions of felt driers 61, 68, 69,etc., the upper felt or felts indicated at 'H being trained thereover byconventional felt rolls as indicated at 12, 13, l4, 15, etc. A hood asshown at 16 is attached to the upper frame section and serves to confinethe moisture vapors emanating from the drier rolls from which the airand moisture vapors are withdrawn by means of exhaust fans (not shown)in accordance with conventional practice.

The upper and lower drier rolls are in this instance driven by aplurality of intermeshing gears as shown at 11 (Fig. 2) arranged alongthe back side of the machine on the trunnions of the drier rolls. Doctorblades, as indicated at 18 and 19 are mounted on brackets BI and 82attached to the brackets 6| and 21 supporting the upper and lower feltrolls, these doctors being positioned in the machine at suitableintervals as desired or required in accordance with the teachings of theart.

It will be seen that this construction provides a' space as indicated at83 (Fig. 2) sufiicient for,

movement of an operator back and forth along the length of the machine,and from this area the operator has complete access to the space betweenthe upper andlower rolls without any obstruction whatever to this space.This greatly facilitates the work of the operator in that it permits thesheet to be fed through the rolls by hand where desired. Where the usualrope carrier is employed, the operator can at once correct the situationwhere the rope breaks or the Sheet drops out of the ropes. Likewise,when difficulty arises which causes the sheet to break and wedge intothe spaces between the rolls, the operator has complete accessibility tothis area for rapid removal of the material. A further advantage lies inthe fact that it permits the fuzz and small articles which collect onthe doctor blades and other parts cf the machine to be blown out throughthe front of the machine. In the past the upright portions of the framestructure which constituted obstructions to the space between the rollsprevented this from being accomplished freely since the blast of aircaused this fuzz and small particles of paper to stick to the innersurface of the frame, the gears, chains, etc. In the presentconstruction this material can-be blown out from the rear of the machineand be thus delivered completely free of the machine structure.

A further advantage of the construction is that the carrier ropes can bechanged with ease, and that all repairs to the drier can be conductedwith considerably greater facility and at lesser expense because of theaccessibility of the parts and because the frame does not prevent thefree removal of the rolls and parts. It will be noted that it is onlynecessary to remove one felt roll to permit any drier roll to be removedfrom the frame structure for the repair of the roll or its associatedparts, whereas in previous constructions it was necessary to remove atleast one frame section and three rolls to accomplish this purpose. Itwill also be observed that the endless felts can be replaced withsubstantially greater ease and speed than prior art constructionsbecause of the facility with which the felt rolls can be removed.

One of the important advantages of the construction is the fact that theunobstructed space between the upper and lower frame sections permits offree movement of air transversely of the machine between the loops ofthe felt so that the ventilation characteristics of the drier aresubstantially enhanced. This gives more rapid and uniform drying actionand therefore greater drying efficiency which is of considerableimportance since the ultimate purpose of the drier section is to producedrying of the sheet.

A very important advantage of the construction is the materially smallercost of a drier made in accordance with this invention.

While I have described and illustrated a specific embodiment of theinvention, it will be understood that this is by way of illustration,and I do not wish to be limited except as required by the scope of theappended claims, in which I claim: 1

1. The combination in a water removing sec,-

tion of a paper machine of spaced lower drier rolls, spaced upper drierrolls spaced vertically fi'om said lower rolls, an upstanding frame foroperatively supporting said lower rolls, a plurality of columns spacedforwardly from said upstanding frame in a plane parallel therewith adistance suiiicient to permit the passage of an operator therebetween,an elevated frame structure fixedly disposed 'on said columns anddepending means on said elevated frame structure for operativelysupporting said upper rolls to provide unobstructed access to the spacebetween the upper and lower rolls during normal operation of said rollsforfree circulation of air between said rolls and for free access by theoperator.

2. The combination in a paper machine of a water removing sectionarranged for free access to the front thereof comprising a plurality oflower rolls in parallelly spaced relationship, said rolls having axiallydisposed trunnions at their ends, a plurality of upper rolls inparallelly spaced relationship disposed above said lower rolls for thepassage of a paper sheet alternately over adjacent upper'and lower rollsthrough said section, said upper rolls having axial trunnions at theirends, a rear frame structure for supporting the trunnions at the rear"ends of said rolls, a lower front frame structure disposed below thetrunnions on the front end of said lower rolls, spaced cross beamsattached at one end to said rear frame structure and extendinglongitudinally of said rolls to a plane forward of said lower frontframe structure, roll carrying beams above the trunnions on the frontends of said upper rolls connecting said crosslbeams, means forsupporting the trunnions at the front end of said upper rolls on saidroll carrying beams and the trunnions at the front end of said lowerrolls on said lower front frame structure, vertical columns disposed ina plane spaced forwardly of said rolls and of said lower front framestructure a distance suihcient for the passage of an operatortherebetween, said columns being attached to said cross beams forsupporting the cross beams, said roll carrying beams and said rolls froma plane spaced forwardly of the rolls for unobstructed access to thefront end of said rolls for feeding the sheet between the rolls and forthe escape of moisture from between the rolls.

3. The combination in a paper machine of a water removing sectionarranged for free access to the front thereof comprising a plurality oflower rolls in parallelly spaced relationship, said rolls having axiallydisposed trunnions at their ends, a plurality of upper rolls inparallelly spaced relationship disposed above said lower rolls for thepassage of a paper sheet alternately over adjacent upper and lower rollsthrough/said section, said upper rolls having axial trunnions at theirends, lower frame structures disposed below the trunnions of said lowerrolls, spaced cross beams extending across said machine in parallelismwith said rolls to planes beyond the ends of said rolls and beyond saidlower frame structures, roll carrying beams above the trunnions on saidupper rolls connecting said cross beams, means for supporting thetrunnions of said upper rolls on said roll carrying beams and thetrunnions of said lower rolls on said lower frame structures, verticalcolumns disposed in planes spaced from the ends of said rolls and fromsaid lower frame structures a distance sufficient for the passage of anoperator therebetween, said columns being attached to said cross beamsfor supporting said cross beams, said roll carrying beams and said upperrolls from planes spaced forwardly and rearwardly from the ends of therolls for unobstructed access to the ends of said rolls for feeding thesheet between the rolls and for the escape of moisture from between therolls.

4. The combination in a paper machine of a 'water removing sectionarranged for free access to the front thereof for feeding the paper,removing the rolls, and for free ventilation comprising spaced lowerrolls, spaced upper rolls spaced vertically from said lower rolls,trunnions disposed on the ends of said rolls, means for supporting therear ends of said rolls, and means for supporting the front ends of saidrolls comprising an upstanding lower frame section extending along thefront side of the machine, supporting members extending upwardly fromsaid frame section and supporting the [trunnions of said lower rolls inspaced relation to said frame section, a plurality of columns spacedfrom said frame section in a plane parallel therewith a distancesuilicient to permit the passage of an operator between said framesection and the columns, an elevated frame structure fixedly disposed onsaid columns in a plane spaced above said lower frame section a distancegreater than the diameter of said rolls for the removal of said rollsendwise between said frames, and depending supporting members on saidelevated frame structure for operatively supporting the trunnions at thefrontend of said upper rolls to provide unobstructed space at the frontends of said rolls for the circulation of air and for access to thespace between said rolls from the front of the machine.

LLOYD HORNBOSTEL

